The Metrowest Daily News and the Boston Globe both did profiles of newly-appointed Police Chief Jane Moran this week, and both focused on the challenges Moran faced as a female police officer making her way in a male-dominated department.
Specifically, the articles talk about Moran coming to the aid of Southborough Police Dispatcher Katherine Baldelli who suffered harassment by her male co-workers in the 1980’s. Baldelli filed a complaint with the state’s Commission Against Discrimination and in 1995 was awarded $250K, then the highest judgment in the agency’s history.
Moran said she suffered retribution for her support of Baldelli, and eventually filed her own discrimination complaint, which she later withdrew.
When Moran was unanimously appointed police chief by the selectmen last week, Chairman Sal Giorlandino praised her courage in supporting Baldelli, “even though it put her police career in jeopardy. … Her appointment is a good way to confirm that the Southborough Police Department has come a long way from that dark period.”
What Jane Moran did regarding support for Baldelli in the 80s was to take a stand of moral courage for Principle – Principle which has no sexist leanings. This was her foundation for such a bold move at that time when males dominated the field.
Good for her.